SpeedLink Ledos Gaming Mouse Review

Overview

Hmmmmmm, now this is something I’ve not used in a long time, an Optical mouse. In fact not since high DPI Laser Gaming mice have I used one (2004ish?). So many thanks SpeedLink for making me feel so old…

What we have here is the SpeedLink Ledos Gaming Mouse (SL-6393-RD). Unlike many Gaming mice today, the Ledos features a symmetrical design which is ideal for left and right handers, a precise Optical sensor with an adjustable resolution from 500 to 3000DPI, DPI switch, fully rubberised finish, red LED illumination and a fully braided USB cable. OK, so perhaps nothing you’ve not seen before, but there’s more! The Ledos also features a Sniper button and a Rapid fire button! Both seem pretty self explanatory, good ideas and something I’ve personally seen before. I wonder how they work in practice…

‘In the heat of battle, quick reflexes and perseverance are called for. To stop having to continually press your mouse button while you’re in a gun fight with your enemies, the LEDOS Gaming Mouse features an additional rapid-fire button which takes care of this for you by automatically performing a double-click. Strafe your enemies with a burst shot as soon as you press the button. Achieve the ultimate in precision using the sniper button. Press it, and the sensor resolution reduces automatically to 500dpi – temporarily slowing down your mouse-pointer speed and enabling you to hone in on your target with deadly precision. It′s an invaluable advantage for covert ops and times when maximum precision is called for.’

So now I’m over my initial grief at what I had in front of me, let’s take a closer look at the SpeedLink Ledos Gaming Mouse.

Taking a look at the front of the high gloss black and red box, shows us an artists impression of the mouse hidden inside. We also see the SpeedLink branding, model name and a few key features.
Features

Red Lighting Effect

3000DPI Optical Sensor

Rubber Coated

5 Button Mouse

DPI Switch

Corded Cable

1.8m Cable

Flipping over to the back of the box shows us the same key features but in a little more detail; system requirements, connection, compatibility and the all important package contents.

Contents

Gaming Mouse

Quick Install Guide

Yep, that’s all folks, it’s a pretty basic package.

On the left side of the box we have another nice looking impression of the Ledos with the mouse measurements (75mm wide x 120mm long) and a small brief on the mouse.

On the right we have very little, but do have a window giving us a sneaky peek at what’s inside!

Opening up the box lid tells us in finer detail exactly what the Sniper button does, the same for the Rapid-Fire button and then explains how comfortable the mouse is to use.

On the other side however we have a rather nice window showing off the SpeedLink Ledos, and you know what? It doesn’t look half bad!

I’ll admit that I quite liked the rather eye-catching packaging, until trying to get the Ledos out of the box. Despite being reasonably well protected in a transparent plastic holder, the box itself is pretty flimsy and sadly not very well protected from my over eager (ham-fisted) approach to un-boxing.

The contents of the box are shown above.

The SpeedLink Ledos Gaming Mouse has an SRRP of £17.99 and is currently available on Amazon for £15.41 and offers a typical 12 month warranty. Hang on… An illuminated Gaming Mouse for under £20.00? There’s gotta be a catch somewhere! I guess we better find out…

First Impressions

So after having removed the SpeedLink Ledos from its now tattered packaging we get to take a much closer look.

From above the Ledos is actually rather smart looking. The majority of the mouse is covered in a rubberised metallic red coating which is really nice to touch, the mouse wheel is also rubber coated with a tyre tread effect, just behind that sits the DPI button. Both the wheel and the button feature a glossy black mounting. Looking from above you can also see the SpeedLink branding and Ledos model name, with the SpeedLink patterning underneath.

Underneath as with many mice it’s pretty sparse. The base is made of a textured black plastic. The Optical sensor is mounted centrally, again we have the SpeedLink branding and Ledos model name, model number and three glides. I’m not convinced the glides are Teflon, but they are undeniably slippery and feel as if they’ll do a great job.

From the right you can see the Ledos shares the similar shape of many mice we have grown accustom to over the years. You can clearly see the red rubberised top, the lower part of the mouse is also rubberised in matt black and is slightly contoured for comfort. Between these is sandwiched a section of opaque white plastic which should illuminate red when the mouse is plugged in. Towards the front you can also see one of the SpeedLink Ledos’ key features, the Rapid-Fire button.

The left side of the Ledos is pretty much the same, except this time the Rapid-Fire button has been replaced with a Sniper button.

The front of the SpeedLink Ledos doesn’t really show us anything we haven’t seen before, but with its red and white colouring it does remind me of a mushroom (ED: eh!?). You may have also noticed the nicely braided cable (1.8m). The braiding is very nicely done, it’s soft and flexible and the black and red stripe effect makes a nice change from plain black.

The back shows more of the illuminated area off, it also shows the ergonomic contour of the sides.

All in all I rather like the simple design of the SpeedLink Ledos, it’s solidly built, light at only 120g and the rubberised coating is very nice to touch, and in the palm it feels incredibly natural to hold.

But what of the performance?

Hardware Installation

Nice, simple and no fuss. The SpeedLink Ledos lead pluged straight into a spare USB port on our MSI Z87-G45 Gaming test motherboard.

Testing Methodology/Setup

Despite being a Gaming mouse, there is no software supplied in box or on-line for the SpeedLink Ledos, so there should be no potential software conflicts on the Test Rig. Which means no re-install of Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit (Service Pack 1) is required.

Battlefield 4

Survarium (Beta)

DayZ (Beta)

Hardware Performance

Well I’m not often surprised, but the SpeedLink Ledos Gaming Mouse (SL-6393-RD) is actually pretty damn good! Despite having an Optical sensor, it’s very smooth and accurate. The right and left mouse buttons have exactly the right amount of tactile feedback and responsiveness you’d expect from a Gaming mouse and the rubberised texture on the wheel makes it impossible for your finger to slip off. In fact the rubberised coating on the Ledos gives it a really nice feel all over. The size and shape of the mouse is like slipping on a tailored glove, exactly how it should be.

The two main key features on the SpeedLink Ledos are of course the Sniper and Rapid-Fire buttons. Neither of which I was convinced of when reading about them. Oddly enough they both work surprisingly well. When the sniper button is depressed the current DPI of the Ledos will automatically drop to 500 DPI, this happens for a very short period of time, but just enough for you to get that all important shot off in Battlefield 4 or DayZ with the accuracy you need. The Rapid-Fire button I assumed would be more like the Auto-Fire button’s of old, but instead it’s a very rapid, double left click. Which turns out to be bloody (ED: haha, get it!?) handy when up close with a rapid fire shotgun or Magnum. Something that I’ve often noticed and isn’t often mentioned in mouse reviews is about the braided cable. We all like cable braiding, but if it happens to be slightly too stiff it can snag in places (I often find this to be the top right corner of my mouse pad, coffee cups, beer cans & snacks etc), this does not happen with the Ledos, it’s exactly how you’d want the cable to be.

Of course not all is rosey with the SpeedLink Ledos… This Gaming mouse has four different DPI settings (500, 1250, 2000 & 3000) with a well placed DPI button, but no indicator of any kind as to which DPI you are on! To me this is pretty daft (and a shame) when a SpeedLink have designed such a good mouse. The Sniper and Rapid-Fire buttons buttons also take a little time to get used to, if they had been set about half an inch further back I feel they would have been perfectly placed.

The LED illumination of the SpeedLink Ledos is pretty hard to catch on camera (as you can see). Via a photograph the illuminations appears a little pink/orange when it is actually a bright red colour which complements the colour scheme really nicely. The red LED has no on/off feature, only a slow breathing/pulsating effect that actually stops (no illumination) whilst the Ledos is not in use. Which is a shame, as it’s always nice to have the choice. The LED effect itself is actually pretty good, we here at pcG have seen many peripherals claiming to have the same style of effect and simply do not!

Final Thoughts

The SpeedLink Ledos arrived in rather eye catching packaging, whilst perhaps being a little flimsier than most, it certainly screams ‘Gamer’ at you. The mouse itself is very well built and looks pretty good to boot (assuming you like red of course), it is also very comfortable to hold and the rubberised coating will not allow your sweaty mitts to slip off at those all important moments in Game. The Sniper and Rapid-Fire buttons that I thought were perhaps a little gimmicky aren’t at all and prove themselves rather handy once you remember they are there and the braided USB cable is exactly what it says on the box, ‘flexible’.

Then the Ledos does have a few limitations, the lack of any kind of DPI indicator is a pretty big set back for any mouse with multiple DPI settings. The Sniper and Rapid-Fire buttons although handy aren’t placed perfectly, it would also have been nice if they were programmable. I feel SpeedLink could have done a little more with the LED illumination too (perhaps some software would have helped?). But all of this would have no doubt added to the overall cost…

So at £15.41 I can easily forgive this as I honestly wasn’t expecting the SpeedLink Ledos to be anywhere near as good as it is and it’s certainly a mouse I would happily allow a space for on my desk.

Using the SpeedLink Ledos has been a very surprising pleasure, but it has sadly also raised two serious questions for me. Do I really need a high DPI laser Gaming mouse? Why would I ever want to spend more than £20.00 on any mouse? Hmmm…